Balances of Eternity: Goddess of the Libra
by Astronema
Summary: [DISCONTINUED] Like all constellations, the Libra has a story, too. Set in Ancient Rome, a girl chooses between two men, and in the process, the victor of a war.
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note**_   
A spoilers page link, along with a link to a sneak peek of the latest chapter, is in my profile. Enjoy! 

-Astronema 

**

Balances of Eternity:   
Goddess of the Libra

**

_**Prologue**_

Once upon a time, in the age of the Greek gods, mighty Jupiter set a new constellation into the sky. He set into the realm of Selene the constellation Libra, once known as the Balances of Eternity. 

But, as all constellations do, the Balances proved themselves worthy of hanging forevermore in the night, just as Hercules with his heroic deeds did. 

This is the story of a normal girl who was born in that era, a girl with a birthright and destiny far greater than any of her contemporaries. 


	2. 01 The Proposal

**Disclaimer**: No money is made off this; it is purely for pleasure and the sake of writing. Plot and most characters belong to me, except for some gods mentioned, but who owns the gods anyway? Some concepts in here belong to others; due credit is given at the end of the chapter. 

_**Chapter 1**_

A lone figure stood in a place unknown to mortals; known only to the higher powers as the Tapestry of Time. Here, the threads and strands of time and space met and interwove between each other to create the very fabric of existence; the universe itself, along with all other parallel and intersecting universes. 

She turned her attention to a strand before her; the particular thread that represented her life in the cosmos. She revisited once more a day, so very long ago by Earth standards, the day that her destiny would fulfill itself. 

~*~

"You can't catch me, Terris! I'm faster than you, remember?" The sounds of laughter permeated the air in the forest as two young ones chased after each other. Terris tried to unsuccessfully catch his prey, Angela. 

Angela and Terris: Friends since they could walk; husband and wife till old age. Or so their families hoped. Angela, dark-haired and pale-skinned, and Terris, sun-kissed hair and eyes the color of the sky, were as different as night and day in looks and temperament, but similar in personality. She liked to reason through things; he knew things by instinct. The two had perfectly matching personalities, except for a few minor areas, like hobbies. Then again, as a male, Terris preferred to throw the discus around while Angela preferred to weave or embroider. 

The two finally stopped their exertions and rested in a meadow next to the forest. Out of the blue, Terris posed the question that had been weighing on his mind as of late, mostly due to the constant nagging of his family. 

"Angela, will you marry me?" 

~*~

**Credits**:   
The idea of "fabric of time and space" was borrowed from K.A. Applegate in her _Animorphs_ series. No profit intended by this. 

The setup for the personalities (reasoning and intuition) of Angela and Terris is borrowed from Ellen in her _Personality Conflicts_ series. No profit intended by this either. 


	3. 02 Consolation

**Disclaimer**: No money is made off this; it is purely for pleasure and the sake of writing. Plot and most characters belong to me, except for some gods mentioned, but who owns the gods anyway? Some concepts in here belong to others; due credit is given at the end of the chapter. 

_**Chapter 2**_

"Angela? Is that you, child?" came the greeting upon her arrival home. After Terris' unexpected proposal of marriage, Angela had run straight home out of shock and fright. She didn't answer her mother as she normally did. 

Celestine, her mother, left the kitchen to see what ailed her daughter. Even to a blind man, the resemblance between Celestine and Angela would have left no doubt that the two were related. Similarly built and colored, the only difference between the two was the color of their eyes and the wrinkles on Celestine's aged face. 

A frown creased on Celestine's face. As she herself had blue eyes, her daughter, taking after her father, had dark eyes. The emotions that went on inside Angela often remained hidden and secret. 

"Child, whatever ails you? Come, sit and speak with me, dearest." Angela left the door and went to her mother's arms immediately. Celestine let her daughter take comfort n her soothing presence. 

"Oh, Mama...what am I going to do?" 

Celestine frowned. "Do about what, little angel?" The childhood nickname brought a watery smile to Angela's face. She thought back to what happened at the forest. With Terris waiting there, so expectant for her to say "yes," Angela realized she couldn't. Although they had grown up together and loved each other like siblings, Angela found herself running away, leaving Terris behind, confused and calling her name. Slowly, she began to recount the story to her mother, watching as Celestine's face expressed fondness, shock, and, finally, understanding. 

As Angela finished her tale, she noted the last look on her mother had. The empathy was definitely unexpected. She had expected her mother to be disappointed, upset, even, with her for turning down such a young man like Terris. 

Celestine was contemplating about her daughter's situation. In fact, it greatly resembled a situation that she herself had been in, involving a certain young man destined to be Angela's father. She led Angela to the inner room, specifically, to the altar that held the family heirloom: the Balances of Eternity. 

"My child, look upon the Balances. For generations, they have foretold the destinies of our kinsmen. Now, it is your turn. Learn of your destiny." 

Hesitantly, Angela stepped up to the altar. She placed her hands on it, one in each scale. The shock of thoughts, memories, and feelings overwhelmed her. 

Amidst the swirling aura, thoughts began to slowly crystallize. She saw her mother, much younger, kneeling...her mother with a man, dark and mysterious...a solar eclipse...a phoenix rising from the ashes...two men in shadows, one light, one dark...and finally, darkness. 


	4. 03 The Prophecy

**Disclaimer**: No money is made off this; it is purely for pleasure and the sake of writing. Plot and most characters belong to me, except for some gods mentioned, but who owns the gods anyway? Some concepts in here belong to others; due credit is given at the end of the chapter. 

_**Author's Note**_   
Please don't flame the poem. I'm not a poet. That's my best friend. And it's only there to help serve the plot, not to show my amazing prowess at poetry. 

_**Chapter 3**_

Angela awoke from her slumber. The last thing she remembered was the vortex of memories when she touched the Balances. The Balances...They were meant to simulate the two sides of every situation, whether it be evil and good, light and dark, right and wrong, and so forth. 

Celestine sat by her daughter's bed, thinking about what Angela would have seen and the questions she would have. She sighed. It was high time for Angela to know her heritage. Celestine cleared her throat to get her daughter's attention. 

Angela turned around to meet her mother's gaze, startled and disoriented. About to ask what everything she saw meant, she noted the look of resignation on her mother's face. Celestine spoke first. 

"I believe, dearest, that among the images you saw, one was that of a solar eclipse, correct?" At Angela's nod, she continued, "The solar eclipse signifies your heritage; more specifically, your maternal heritage. 

"My daughter, I am the last of the Solar Eclipse line. The females of that line have always been the Lady Solar Eclipse. With this title, comes the responsibility of a Guardian of Time. As a Guardian of Time, it is my duty to oversee crucial events that happen in order to protect a certain timeline. Yes, it means I can go back and forward in time and so forth, but it is necessary not to abuse this power. As the Lady Solar Eclipse, my powers are based on both the sun and the moon, but they are at their greatest in the event of an eclipse. 

"When it is time, I will pass the powers onto you. Traditionally, however, in a family of more than one daughter, they are passed on to the most eligible daughter, not necessarily the oldest. To give them to you now, I feel, is folly. When the time is right, they will be yours forevermore." 

Angela pondered the new information. "But, Mother, what of the phoenix I saw? Or the visions of you? What do they mean?" The Lady blanched. The phoenix? But that must mean...the prophecy! 

_From the union of Light and Dark,   
Will come the child who bears the Mark   
Of the lines Eclipse and Phoenix;   
She will be the one who picks   
Between the Light and the Dark,   
The Daughter of the Mark._

Things began to fall into place in Celestine's head. Angela's father was the Phoenix; and herself, the Eclipse. Her father most certainly fell into the category of darkness, while she was an Avatar of the Light. If her father was one of the legendary Children of the Phoenix, then Angela was...a Daughter of the Phoenix. That line held the fabled powers of the Phoenix Song, awakening comatose people, and Phoenix Tears that could heal anything. 

It also explained the aura of age around Angela's father when Celestine met him. Although he looked to be her age, his eyes told a story of the millenniums he had lived; the Light, the Dark; the wisdoms, the foolishnesses; the hope, the despair. Phoenixes, by legend, died every five hundred years and were reborn from the ashes. Children of the Phoenix, the half-bloods, were reborn every two hundred years. 

To Angela, her mother seemed to be taking a very long time to ponder this question; too long, as a matter of fact. What could her mother possibly have to hide? She knew that her father had left her mother pregnant, and out of wedlock, but surely that couldn't have been it. Did her father have something to do with the phoenix? 

"Angela, the phoenix...the phoenix is the symbol of your paternal heritage. Do you remember the stories I used to tell you when you were little about the Children of the Phoenix?" At her daughter's nod of assent, Celestine continued, "Your father...he was a Son of the Phoenix, which makes you a quarter-blood." 

~*~

**Credits**:   
"Guardian of Time" and its responsibilities are taken from Naoko Takeuchi's _Sailor Moon_ series; specifically, the other alias of Sailor Pluto and her responsibilities. 

The powers of the phoenix are based from J.K. Rowling's _Harry Potter_ series, Dumbledore's pet phoenix Fawkes. 

"The Light, the Dark; the wisdoms, the foolishnesses; the hope, the despair" are based off the opening lines of _A Tale of Two Cities_ by Charles Dickens. 


	5. 04 Marketplace Adventures

**Disclaimer**: No money is made off this; it is purely for pleasure and the sake of writing. Plot and most characters belong to me, except for some gods mentioned, but who owns the gods anyway? Some concepts in here belong to others; due credit is given at the end of the chapter. 

_**Author's Note**_:   
This chapter portrays a new side of Angela, one that isn't the dutiful daughter or bosom friend since birth. Angela flirts in this chapter. She isn't meant to be characterized as a slut, merely a...cat who's toying with her...prey. Although Romans are thought of as white and sterile, and, consequently, the vernacular, I've chosen to make the dialogue in this chapter into our speech patterns. Again, it ties back into Angela's characterization. 

Also, looking for a beta reader! I'm getting this immense paranoia that the story isn't flowing correctly, and I'd feel much better if I had an objective person to critique my work. Bonus: you get to see the chapters before I post them anywhere, my spoilers page or FFN. 

_**Recap of Other Author's Note**_:   
Setting = Rome. Libra = Latin, therefore, ROME. 

Chapter 3 = background info. Mom: Guardian of Time. Dad: Half-phoenix. 

This story is a love story, with a backdrop of classical mythology. It just happened to work better that way, in my opinion. 

Happy Reading!   
-Nema 

Completed: June 2003 

_**Chapter 4**_

It was later. After Celestine dropped the news on her daughter, she knew that Angela needed time to think on it. Being a girl, Angela did what any other would have done in her place: she went to the market. 

The Roman marketplace was a wonderful place to be, especially when your thoughts and moods were bleary. It was filled with people of all sizes and shapes, merchants who sold everything from Chinese silks to Mediterranean fruits to odd knick-knacks one might find, and, of course, sometimes the undeniably attractive Roman boy - young man, rather. 

The day Angela visited the market, things were no different, despite the fact that the last time she visited, her spirits were better. 

Things were definitely no different, well, except maybe for a new trinket that the local merchant just got. But, things were the same. Especially about the cute boy. 

~*~

He had been watching her ever since she stepped foot into the square. She had an aura that made you take notice immediately. Added to the fact that she was actually quite pretty, beautiful enough to be a goddess, really, and she wasn't that hard on the eyes. 

~*~

Angela felt someone's eyes on her. Looking at the reflection in a jeweler's mirror nearby, she saw a tall, dark young man watching her every move. Dark brown hair, almost black eyes, tanned skin, and a lean muscular build...very attractive. He was standing by Farouk, the Arabian sword maker, feigning interest in the craftsmanship. It was obviously up to her to make the first move. Maybe this would help distract her from Terris... 

~*~

She was walking towards him. His fantasy goddess was nearing him and looked like she wanted a word with him. What were the odds that he'd get away from this discretely and preferably without injuries? The girls he grew up around always spoke their mind - verbally or otherwise. 

~*~

Angela laughed to herself. To the casual observer, he looked as unperturbed as ever; however, his body language spoke volumes of terror. A young man, one who could easily overpower her, by the looks of it, was scared of her? 

"I take it you admire Farouk's craftsmanship?" 

"Yes...It's very, um, that is...it's beautiful," came the stuttering reply. 

Wow. Could he be anymore obvious? 

"What type of sword do you prefer? Curved or straight?" she asked, purposefully going towards seduction. This was going to be fun. Perfect distraction. 

~*~

Breathe, boy, he thought to himself, it's just another girl. Another girl...right. And his mother was Caesar's wife. Well, if one bothered to trace the genealogy far back enough, it's entirely possible that his mother was of Calphurnia's line. 

Anyway, was it just his imagination, or was she purposefully stringing him on? In that case, two can play at that game. 

"Well, I've always felt that the type or size of the sword doesn't particularly matter, just the manner in which it is used...skillfully or otherwise," he whispered back. 

~*~

Oh, my. He was good. _Very_ good. 

It was at this moment that Farouk chose to make his appearance. 

"So, what can I help you with today?" Inwardly, both youngsters groaned. As good as Farouk was with his craftsmanship, he was equally bad with his timing and social skills. 

Farouk took note of the fact that his new customer and his little lady Angela both had undercurrents of sexual tension running. "Well, if it isn't little miss Angela! How's your ma, girl? Taking good care of her?" 

Angela. So that was her name. He finally had one up on his "angelic" goddess. 

Not good. _Very_ not good. He knew her name, and she had yet to know his. Damn you, Farouk, Angela thought. "Mama's just fine, Farouk. She asked me if I could pick up some things in the market for her, and I seem to have found myself a lost puppy, too," Angela finished, sparing a sideways glance at the boy next to her. 

"Ahh, so you've met Marcus? He's got excellent taste in craftsmanship, you know," Farouk told her in an aside. 

Marcus. Finally, the things a girl had to go through to get a boy's name. "Rebellious," eh? 

"Yes, Farouk, we were discussing types of swords and the skill required to utilize them." 

Subtle, now, aren't we, my dear? Was this her way of seducing him or what? Marcus, who up to now had been silent, offered his opinion, "Well, Farouk, it was good seeing you, but it's getting awfully late. The sun's almost completely gone, and you'd better start closing before any disreputables come along." 

"Thank you, my boy, for your concern. You'd better get going, too, Marcus. And walk the lady home, will you? She's just slightly delicate," Farouk said conspiratorially. 

"Delicate?! Excuse me! I am **not** delicate, thank you very much. I can most certainly walk home by myself, without some bodyguard!" Angela exclaimed. 

Marcus chuckled. "How about if I just walk you home, as a friend? I won't be your bodyguard, dear Angela." She softened as this. Well, it's not everyday that a cute boy asks to take you home. Why not? 

~*~

**_Final Author's Note_**

Hi everyone- 

I have officially forsaken this story, as it is not going the way I had originally intended for it to go, and I simply don't have the time nor energy to give it the attention that it deserves. Even with the help of a wonderful beta reader, I have no more intentions of writing this story. 

If you would like to give it a shot, please, you're more than welcome to. All I ask is that you tell me first. Thanks! 

-Astronema 

December 2003 


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